S&P/ASX 200 finishes slightly higher as Materials and Energy lift the Australian stock market; James Hardie leads gains, Catalyst Metals tops losers

Core Insights - The S&P/ASX 200 index closed slightly higher, rising 12.60 points or 0.15% to 8,592.00, but remains down 0.31% over the past five sessions while holding a year-to-date gain of 5.31% [6] Company Performance - James Hardie Industries PLC was the strongest performer of the day, jumping 7.13% to $30.51, followed by Ramelius Resources Limited, which climbed 6.72% to $3.81 [6] - Flight Centre Travel Group advanced 5.37%, Scentre Group added 4%, and Whitehaven Coal rose 3.11%, rounding out the top five gainers [6] - On the downside, Catalyst Metals Limited posted the steepest loss, falling 8.86% to $6.07, followed by DroneShield Limited, which slipped 6.64% [6] Sector Performance - Sector movement was mixed, with Materials leading with a 0.85% gain, supported by mining names, while A-REITs rose 0.69% and Energy added 0.60% [4][6] - Financials and Utilities also ended in positive territory, while Information Technology declined by 1.53% and Health Care slipped 1.13% [4][6] - Over the past week, Information Technology posted the steepest decline, falling 4.16%, followed by Health Care, which dropped 2.37% [5][6] - Only two sectors ended higher for the week: Materials gained 1.47% and Financials rose 0.48% [5][6]